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Enugu Assembly Pledges Speedy Passage of 2018 Budget
… Members Adjudge Budget As Pragmatic and Implementable
The Enugu State House of Assembly will soon pass into law the 2018 Appropriation Bill presented by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to the House on December 28, 2017, said the members.
After a heated debate on the merits and demerits of the budget on Tuesday and Thursday, the lawmakers adjudged the budget a pragmatic and implementable one.
After a second reading, handed it over to the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation to scrutinise the budget estimate and, after ministries and departments’ budget defence, to report back to the House for a possible passage into law.
During the budget presentation on the floor of the House on December 28, 2017, Governor Ugwuanyi had pleaded with the legislators to expedite action on the budget debate to ensure quick passage into law so as to make it a legal working document that would enable the executive embark on the developmental projects mapped out for the fiscal year under review.
In line with Ugwuanyi’s plea for speedy passage of the budget tagged “Budget of Sustainable Economic Growth,” members while contributing to the debate applauded the budget as a practicable and realisable budget devoid of bogus estimates that might not be accessed.
Member representing Isi-Uzo Constituency, Dr. Emeka Ogbuabor, said that for the first time the state budget captured the health institutions like the schools of health in Oji and Nsukka which, he said, train health personnel that would sustain the provision of adequate manpower that would ensure better healthcare in the state.
In his contribution, Barr. Obinna Okenwa representing Enugu South Urban, while appraising the workability and realisability of the budget estimates, said that the executive streamlined how the budget would be financed and funded through Federal Allocation, IGR, grants and other sources like the Paris Club and said that when passed into law, the state would fare better.
“It is not proposing huge amount without realising them. It is a precise budget. They want to budget what they can implement,” he said. Barr. Okenwa pointed out that he discovered that ministries and departments achieved their budget estimate for last year and expressed belief that this year’s budget would be realised as well.
Urging his colleagues to support the budget estimate, Mr. Chuka Eneh, UDI South, said that the budget was specific and is likely to be implementable. He expressed optimism that the state would achieve over 90% of the budget estimate.
Eneh said that with such budget which fell short of what was budgeted last year by over N7 billion, the state will not incur debt as in previous years.
Recall that the state budgeted over N105 billion while this year came down to N98.5 billion.
The Speaker of the House, Chief Edward Ubosi had given all the members the opportunity to make their contribution to the debate and asked the House Committee of Finance and Appropriation to further scrutinise the budget and report back to the House on February 8, 2018 for possible passage into law.
News
Nigerians Seek Woman Who Spoke Out Eloquently Against Fuel Scarcity In Viral 1994 TV Clip
April 30th 1994, 30 Years Ago, And Till Today Nothing Has Really Changed.
Netizens have gone in search of a beautiful and well-spoken woman who spoke out against fuel scarcity 30 Years Ago.
A user on X.com, Jackie, who identifies as #JWEZEE had shared the video yesterday with the caption, “On this day April 30 1994, same day same time, only difference 30years ago.
“Nigerians in long fuel queues lamenting, 30years later they are still lamenting. And In another 30years will still lament, why? Because patterns don’t lie.”
In the video, which has since gone viral, Nigerians were seen queuing to purchase fuel and lamenting their predicament as citizens waiting in long queues with their gallons to buy fuel.
The woman passionately addressed the unfairness of soldiers skipping queues to resell fuel, highlighting a longstanding problem.
She said in part, “You have the soldiers that come, they buy petrol, they put it in jerry cans they sell it right in front of these people, it’s ridiculous.
“They get the fuel themselves, why do they have to come here, they don’t join the queue, they just buy and they sell right in front of people, it’s ridiculous. Something has to happen.”
The 30-year-old video which recently surfaced coincides with the current fuel price hike across the country.
Here is the viral video from 30 years back.
Currently, the country is facing fuel scarcity and price hike, with fuel being sold at N900 per litre in some states. This has affected the price of goods in the nation.
News
FG Declares May 1st Public Holiday To Mark Workers’ Day
The Federal Government had declared Wednesday, May 1st, 2024, as a public holiday to mark this year’s Workers’ Day.
Nigeria’s Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made the declaration, according to the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Aishetu Ndayako.
“The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, 1st May 2024 as a Public Holiday to commemorate this year’s Workers’ Day Celebration,” Aishetu said in a statement on Tuesday, April 30.
“In alignment with this year’s theme, which focuses on ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate, I wish to state that the Federal Government remains steadfast in its resolve to prioritise the safety and well-being of all citizens,” the minister said.
“Let me reaffirm Mr. President’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for work, where every worker can thrive and contribute meaningfully to national development”.
The minister, who acknowledged the contribution of workers, called for more measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change through synergy.
“The Minister also urged Nigerians to remain committed to the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda as he wishes workers a happy celebration,” the statement read.
News
“There Would Be total Blackout For Three Months If Electricity Tariff Hike Is Not Implemented ” – Minister Of Power Warns
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned that there would be a total blackout in the country in the next three months if the proposed electricity tariff hike is not implemented.
The minister gave the warning in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power at an investigative hearing over the recent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)on Monday, April 29.
In his words
“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs. The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.”
He said the sum of $10 billion is needed yearly for the next ten years to revive the nation’s power sector and nip in the bud the challenges bedevilling it.
“For this sector to be revived, the government needs to spend nothing less than 10 billion dollars annually in the next 10 years.
“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But the government cannot afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders. So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing.
“If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors,” he said.
Adelabu said the inability of the government to pay outstanding N2.9 trillion subsidy was due to limited resources, hence the need to evolve measures to sustain the sector.
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